In 2011, a 19-year-old named Zach Wahls gave a speech to the Iowa legislature during the state’s marriage equality battles, describing his life with two moms. It went viral, catching national attention. Wahls, now a two-term Iowa state senator running for U.S. Senate, spoke with me for the speech’s 15th anniversary, looking at its impact and offering advice for parents and young people today.
Three-time Emmy Award-winning children’s TV screenwriter and producer Chris Nee and Emmy Award-winning animation casting and voice director Kristi Reed spoke with me about increasing queer representation in children’s media, the state of the industry, and what we can all do to help.
For LGBTQ History Month, I spoke with Margaret Mooney, editor of a new anthology of essays by lesbian mothers who raised children in the 1980s, 90s, and early 2000s. The book not only sheds light on the past, but also offers wisdom for today.
The U.S. Supreme Court will decide tomorrow in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case revolving around LGBTQ-inclusive books in public school classrooms. Two of the books in the case were published by Little Bee Books, whose CEO and editorial director spoke with me about LGBTQ inclusion, their partnership with LGBTQ media advocacy organization GLAAD, and the case itself.
How do queer moms parent their sons? The question isn’t just “Are our kids okay?” explained Gail Marlene Schwartz, co-editor of a new book on the topic. “We feel like that’s been established.” Instead, the book asks whether queer moms have “something particular to offer in terms of nurturing healthy masculinity,” Schwartz said.
I’m delighted to have interviewed GLAAD Media Award-winning journalist Erin Reed for a piece at LGBTQ Nation. Reed, who has a 9-year-old son, spoke with me about motherhood, parenting with spouse and Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr, being a trans parent, finding community, building bridges, and more.
For Darra Gordon, her new role as CEO of Family Equality is “more of a calling than a choice.” She and her wife Nicole are raising three children, one of whom identifies as nonbinary. The work of Family Equality, the national organization for LGBTQ families, is therefore “incredibly, deeply personal to me,” she said in an interview.
Brian Rosenberg is on a very personal mission to help LGBTQ+ people build their families. When he was in his 20s and 30s, he said in an interview, “Gay men were not thinking about becoming parents because everyone who would have done it was dying, and many of us, like myself, have HIV, and so we weren’t planning for it.”
Queer parents and prospective parents can sometimes have a hard time finding support and community. Marea Goodman, a licensed midwife and queer parent, is hoping to make that easier with PregnantTogether, a growing virtual community for queer and solo parents and parents-to-be.
A new, action-oriented guide for educators and others wanting to create supportive school environments for trans and nonbinary youth is set to be one of the most important LGBTQ-related books of the year. The authors spoke with me about their work.
